


Frozen Trust

by WinterXAssassin



Series: And I'd Choose You; In A Hundred Lifetimes [3]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Being Lost, Bonding, Friendship, Gen, Halo: Reach, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Major Character Injury, Mystery, Nobody knows, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Science Fiction, Snow, Stranded, Team Bonding, Technically Speaking, Whump, not even me, out in the ice, what's going on here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2019-11-07 09:12:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17957741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterXAssassin/pseuds/WinterXAssassin
Summary: Stranded out in the snowy wilderness of a barren, inhospitable Outer Colony, two Spartans must fight to survive. It's a struggle day in and day out, especially since one of them is badly injured. If they don't learn how to work together, one or both of them will not make it off the planet alive...





	1. Icy Troubles

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: New fic, oops.  
> Technically it's not new since I posted the first part of it to tumblr some time ago, but whatever! I'm adding it here for all of you to enjoy, as well as continuing it.  
> Anywho! On with the story.

He could not see half a meter in front of him. In fact, he could scarcely see his own hand, even if he raised it in front of his visor. Were it not for the fact that the gauntlets were black and midnight blue, he would have thought that he did not have hands at  _all_.

There was so much snow.

It must have been a snow storm — but how could he have missed the signs? And his motion tracker was so  _still_. How could he have lost his teammate?

He wasn’t thinking straight.

He had been so busy trying not to get lost — so busy paying attention to his  _surroundings_ , and nothing else — that he did not heed anything else. He’d told the Lieutenant that he would look after her, when she agreed to come with him out here. And he hadn’t kept an eye on her. How could she trust him after this? Her bond with the team was tentative at best — he’d seen her snap at Kat, and he knew they’d once been best friends, as cadets. The Lieutenant’s past was an ugly stain on her life, and she was still healing from that wound.

Lack of trust had been a major part in that, and Carter had gone and screwed it up, big time. 

_Foolish. Idiot. Not thinking straight. You should’ve kept an eye on her._

_Maybe the motion tracker isn’t working because the quantum mirror is frozen over. It’s so damn cold out here; temperature is way below zero._

_Or maybe something’s blocking the signal._ That  _seems more likely._

_Too many maybes and not enough facts._

A quiet growl of frustration escaped him, and he continued to plough on through shin-deep snow. Even for a Spartan, it was slow going, and it was made all the more difficult by the fact that he could not  _see_. He knew he could not change directions, however. If he did, he would have wound up—

Something had changed.

He paused, one foot raised and ready to take another step, and noticed that the ground in front of him was flattened. Eyebrows furrowed, he studied the landscape carefully, noticing the indents in the snow. Footprints, of some large animal, drag marks, bootprints made only by MJOLNIR, spots of blood. All signs of a scuffle having taken place.

 _That’s… not good_.

Carter dropped into a crouch, and saw that whatever  _creature_  had been there had bounded away, and it was bleeding. However, the blood that followed those footprints was not red, but a sort of blue-purple; the red blood was spattered on some rocks and on the ground, but was not leading away anywhere. There was also signs of a body having impacted the rocks, and when he followed the impact site carefully, he could  _see_ that there was the lip of a cliff nearby.

Swallowing down his fear, the Spartan leapt down the edge, landing on an outcrop of rocks with a  _clunk_. Here, too, something had hit — the snow was stirred up, and there was more blood. He walked to the edge of the rockpile, and further down below, there was definitely  _something_ down there that was not rocks, and was getting covered rapidly by the ever-falling snow. The shape was vaguely that of a crumpled human, and there was no mistaking the black MJOLNIR with aqua accents.

_What the hell happened?_

He switched to TEAMBIO for a moment, and a cold chill ran down his spine, when he realized that her signs didn’t show up at all. They weren’t flat — they just showed that she was missing altogether. That was not a good sign.

With great care, the Spartan picked his way down the mountainside, and approached his fallen teammate warily. Her armour had taken a beating, and there was blood beneath her prone form. He knelt beside her, rolling her over, assessing how badly she was hurt. Considering that whatever had attacked her had caused her to take a tumble off a  _cliff_ , and hit rocks on the way down, he estimated that the outcome was not good. At least her armour was functioning, because it had locked up on impact. But he did not know if it had activated in time to save her from injury or not. He did not even know if she was conscious.

“Artemis, what the hell happened to you?” he whispered.

Only the howling wind answered him.


	2. Lean On Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, ah, yeah. I was re-inspired to continue writing this chapter. Hope y'all enjoy.... although in my opinion it feels somewhat mediocre.

Artemis came to with a long, low moan of pain tumbling past her lips. Her head was throbbing, and she felt... drained, in only the manner she did after a long and particularly difficult mission. Her limbs felt heavy, leaden; pain pulsed in her torso the moment she shifted her body. She inhaled deeply – or tried to – and felt the bruised or perhaps broken ribs. However, with that intake of breath, the scent of a fire close by came to her, and her eyes flew open with mild alarm.

What was going on? Where _was_ she?

“Mmmhh...”

“Lieutenant. Good to see you’re awake.”

She started at the voice, and her eyes followed the sound, travelling, travelling, until she saw Commander Carter-A259, her teammate and leader, crouched near the fire, watching her. He looked... anxious, concerned, and he rose up to move closer and stoop by her side.

What had happened to her.... _oh_. There had been that strange wild beast that had attacked her, had tried to kill her. She’d fought back, but the damn thing had sent her flying. The last thing she remembered was impacting a pile of rocks with a sickening _crunch_ , and then the sensation of falling through space. Then it had all gone black.

“Somehow alive...” she muttered, more to herself than to him, and moaned again as she shifted in an attempt to sit upright. “Damn. Give it to me straight: how bad a shape am I in?”

Carter sighed and leaned back, shaking his head. “Three fractured ribs, your left shoulder was out of its socket, countless bruises and scrapes, twisted ankle, mild concussion, nosebleed, dislocated right kneecap.”

Mild concussion. That explained the bile rising up the back of her throat, and the pounding headache. Artemis gave up trying to sit upright, and closed her eyes, exhaling wearily. So she was battered, and bruised, but it could have been worse. At least she was alive. And Carter had found her, and had done his best to tend to her injuries with what limited supplies they had with them. Which would explain why her torso was pulsing and throbbing with each intake of breath; he’d likely taped her to help her ribs knit back together correctly. “My armour...?”

“Worse shape than you are.” The Spartan nodded to a pile she hadn’t seen before in a corner of... they were in a cave. Great.

_And my attention is wandering. That would be the concussion having a party._

_...Why do I feel dizzy when I’m lying down?_

_Oh right, concussion. Yeah. That’s not gonna stick, is it._

“Lieutenant?” Carter had shifted closer, and he gently slapped her cheek. He looked... frantic. Was... was there something wrong with her? His eyes were wide with concern, and something like desperation clawed at his voice. “Hey. Whoa, whoa! Stay with me, Lieutenant. Artemis. _Artemis_!” His voice faded out, and everything went black.

* * *

Three hours passed before Artemis woke again.

Carter had kept a watchful eye over her that entire time. The memory of her eyes glazing over, of her face shifting... it stuck with him. It probably would for a long time, too. They were going to be stuck out here for a long, long time. He doubted he would have much of anything interesting to replace what little had occurred up until this point.

Aside from the sight all of that blood, and the sight of his teammate’s prone form lying motionless at the bottom of that cliff. She was his responsibility now; had been for the past twelve hours. Or had it been twelve? His HUD was running Military Standard Time; out here, the hours could have been shorter, or longer, for all he knew. They had never even had the chance to find out. Either way, it had been a long time, and it likely would be at least three more days until she was healed up enough to be up on her feet, moving about.

Even if neither of them could wander very far for fear of losing the one decent place they could use as a shelter; for fear of getting lost in that barren and inhospitable wasteland out there.

He’d just finished an MRE when she stirred, groaned, came to. He could see just by looking at her that she wasn’t much better than before. Perhaps she would be more cognizant this time around. But he could only hope. She must have taken a nasty knock to the head, or multiple knocks. He almost wondered if deeming her concussion as _mild_ was understating things. But then, she was a Spartan. She was as tough as they came, and perhaps then some. After all, she’d survived the hellfires of Reach. Alone. She’d gotten herself off that planet before the Covenant could rid the galaxy of her presence... even if she’d only been half alive... She’d done it alone.

He’d come to admire her for that.

Her voice broke him out of his musings; he glanced over to her, watching her wince as she once again shifted in an attempt to sit herself in an upright position. “Do I smell... food? Or am I having halluc-.... imaginations thanks to my concussion?”

Definitely more cognizant. At the very least, _somewhat_ more cognizant. It was a good sign.

“Don’t know if you’re hungry, Lieutenant,” his voice was soft, held less of its usual growl, “I can rip open another MRE, if you’d like. Probably been awhile since you last ate. According to MST it’s been twelve hours since you were knocked out, but on this planet it could be more, or less. And in this weather, there’s no way of telling for sure.”

“Maybe not...” Artemis closed her eyes again. “Still not feeling...green, Sir. Or should I say I _am_ feeling green... just not in the usual way.” She laughed, weakly, the noise rasping and strange.

Well, she was making jokes. But he’d not often heard her crack them, so perhaps she was less cognizant than he was originally thinking. Maybe he _was_ wrong to think that her concussion was only _mild_. He was inclined to believe, now, that her concussion was more on the moderate side of things. And that meant he needed to keep a sharper eye on her. He couldn’t rest. Not when she was relying on him. Not when she was so injured... Not when they were stranded out here, alone...

He shook his head and frowned at her. “I’d’ve hoped that you would have come around more by now. But...” He exhaled wearily. “Given the way you’re acting, and the fact that you passed out on me for three hours, well, I’d say your concussion is more on the _moderate_ side of things.”

He heard her hiss out what sounded like a curse in another language – reminded him of Jorge, speaking Hungarian, funnily enough – before groaning in frustration. “This sucks. I’m supposed to—” Another frustrated groan.

“I’m sorry.” It blurted out of him, and the Lieutenant looked as surprised as he felt.

“What do you have to be sorry for? You saved my ass. _I_ should be the one who’s sorry for getting lost in the first place. And now I’m injured and you have me to look after to boot. We should have been at that damn encampment by now, if I hadn’t gotten so _distracted_...” Irritation flashed across her features.

“What are you talking about, Artemis? You didn’t... We got split up from one another. And of course I’m supposed to be looking out for you. I’d never forgive myself if I wasn’t. As it is I’m kicking myself because you’re hurt.”

“D’n’t stress, Commander, I’m jus’ a trouble magnet anyway.... ’Sides, I’m the big damn idiot, not you. Was nev’r your fault...”

As Carter watched, Artemis slipped into unconsciousness once more, and he pressed his lips into a line. Damn it. Sure, _she_ didn’t blame him. But he blamed himself. He probably would, too, for a long time. It was just how things went. It was... it was a problem he had, and he was working on it. But when people got injured and they were under his watch, he felt responsible for them being wounded in the first place, even if he’d done his damnedest to keep them safe.

And this time... this time he really _did_ think that it had been _his fault_.

* * *

Artemis came to for the... second time? Or was it the third? No, she was sure it was the second time. It hadn’t been that long since she’d been attacked by that.... creature. The memories felt too fresh for that. Her head felt less foggy than it had the last time she awoke, although it didn’t seem any less _sore._ That was what happened when one hit their head multiple times.

Some part of her yearned to stretch out stiff muscles, but the moment she tried it, pain shot like a lightning bolt down her spine, and she hissed between clenched teeth. She wasn’t going to make that mistake again. She would just have to be patient and wait. No matter how badly it sucked... and no matter how much she was beginning to feel a chill settling into her skin despite her wearing the formfitting techsuit that belonged with her armour. Either the planet was always viciously cold, or that snowstorm had not let up. Perhaps it was both.

She turned her head to one side and saw Carter sitting closer than he had been before, knees bent, eyes staring vacantly into the fire. He must have stayed up to watch her. He looked... tired. Spartans could go a long time without sleep, yes, but it was really only effective when they were running on a full tank of everything that kept them going. And he was already tired from pushing through the snow, and carrying her injured form.

“You look like shit.” she mumbled, and he stirred out of his reverie to glance at her, a frown creasing his forehead. There was definitely worry in his deep blue eyes, and she was not sure if she liked that. She’d suffered through worse. And she hadn’t had other people looking out for her. She was good at managing alone;  she _was_ the lone wolf of the team, after all.

“Haven’t slept.” His voice was quiet, but still somehow loud in the closeness of the cave. “Gotta watch out for you. You’re my responsibility.”

Artemis had to fight to keep from scowling at him. “You shouldn’t. I’ll be fine. Besides that, you should be resting.” Why did he feel the need to look after her? What could he have possibly gained from it? There was nothing she could do for him in return. At least, not at this point in time. And she was sure that if she’d even so much as tried, he would have brushed it off. She couldn’t have that; she felt like she owed him.

“That’s what friends are for.” he countered, evenly, and some part of her thought that he was staring her down. She narrowed her eyes a fraction, met his gaze, and held it. Was he silently challenging her? She wasn’t going to back down if he was.

“Are we friends, Commander?” The lone wolf tilted her head.

“Well. I’d certainly like to be, Lieutenant.” He dropped his gaze and sighed, tossing a couple of sticks onto the fire to keep it going. He sounded... sad, almost. Like he was missing something... or someone. She couldn’t help the pang in her chest at his voice. Was he lonely? Did he miss all of his friends who had fallen in battle?

Her heart went out to him.

“I wouldn’t mind that.” she said, and her voice was softer than it had been before. She would have been surprised, if it hadn’t come so _naturally_ to her.

He turned to look at her over one shoulder. “No?”

“Not one bit.”

* * *

Five hours, she’d been cognizant this time around. Eighteen hours total since she’d been injured. Everything still ached, although at least her throbbing head had eased. Even if only a little, it was enough for everything to become just that little bit _clearer_. The concussion was not as much of a priority as it had once been, although it was still concerning. After all, Carter had not ceased in his watching over her. When the three-hour mark passed, and it became apparent that she was not going to pass out any time soon, he’d slept. It wasn’t much, probably wasn’t enough, but at least he was that little bit more well rested. That little bit more _alert_.

After all, who knew what other kinds of hostile beings roamed the wilderness, even in the roughest of weather and climate?

It had been a struggle, but she’d managed to keep down an MRE and some water. The nausea had passed, so that hadn’t _really_ been the worst of it. Getting the food and drink to her mouth, on the other hand... Her muscles were stiff from being still for so long and from being bruised and aching. And her left shoulder twinged every time she extended it past a certain degree. Just one of the perks of having it dislocated and put back into place.

A silence had drifted between the pair of Spartans, and it now hung in the air between them. It was not an uncomfortable silence, nor an awkward one. It was one of those quiet, pleasant silences that came when two were comfortable with one another’s presence, and did not feel the need to break it by speaking. It was... nice. Different, but nice.

For a moment, Artemis wondered if Carter had gone back to sleep. He was like a statue, sitting there in his armour, his gaze fixated on the fire that was one of the only things keeping them warm. But he stirred, sighed, shifted, and glanced at her, and she knew he was awake as she now felt. Certainly not one hundred percent, perhaps not even _close_ to that, but better than half. Probably not good enough, if he wanted to keep looking out for her. But she was not going to tell him what to do. She did not think that he would listen, and she did not want to argue with him. That, and she could not bring herself to order him around. It just... didn’t feel right. Even if it was out of concern, she simply could not do it.

Instead, she held his gaze, cocking her head in silent question of _how are you doing_ before sighing wearily and propping herself up on one elbow. It was starting to become uncomfortable, sitting at the wrong angle for too long. Normally she would have been able to handle it, but not with how battered and _tired_ her body felt. She wanted to lie down in a bed – _her_ bed – and _sleep_ , for a long, long time. She wanted to be _home_.

“I should be asking you the same thing, Lieutenant.” Carter shifted so that he was facing her instead of the fire, and again, his forehead crinkled with concern. “Thought that _I_ was meant to be looking out for _you_.”

“Things left unsaid,” the lone wolf mumbled, and dropped her gaze. “Ugh, sorry, I’m being vague. Honestly? I’ve been better, and I’ve been worse. So in my terms, that’s somewhat of an improvement. You, on the other hand? Well, I’d tell you to rest but I’m not so sure you’d listen, and I’m not so sure I have the heart to tell you what to do anyway.”

“I’ll cope.” Her expression must have made him feel guilty, because he held up a hand, and tacked on quickly, “Promise I’ll get some more sleep in when you’re more cognizant. Even if your mind is not one hundred percent. That good enough for you?”

“Sure.” Artemis settled back onto the ground again. It was tiring to even prop herself up. “I’ll take that.” Her eyelids flickered closed for longer than they should have done in a simple blink. She was so damn _exhausted_. All she wanted to do was sleep, but with her concussion, that probably wasn’t a good idea. She knew that she should have fought harder to keep from passing out, earlier. It just wasn’t an easy thing to battle. She was unused to concussions; she’d never been hit on the head much at all, in the past — compared to her ilk, she’d experienced hardly any concussions at all.

When her eyes opened again, she saw that Carter was staring at her, his expression halfway between a frown, and something quizzical that she couldn’t quite name. She’d often found him studying her, as of late, and she could never quite work out _why_. Was it that he was piecing together who she was? Or perhaps he saw in her one of his old teammates? There wasn’t really any way of telling. Unless she asked, of course, but that felt like prying, and she wasn’t so sure she wanted to dredge up the past.

Instead, she decided to helpfully point out to him that he was staring. That elicited the faintest of smiles, before he shook his head and glanced away. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to, I was just.... thinking.”

“Care to share with the room?” Artemis joked, and that earned her a quiet chuckle.

“It’s nothing important, don’t worry. I often have a lot on my mind.”

The Lieutenant blinked sluggishly again, and jerked her head as her body began to slump forward. It was so hard to keep from passing out. Slipping into oblivion sounded so very tempting. But it was no good if she allowed herself to fall unconscious. It would be so much harder for her to recover. She looked toward Carter again, and she could only hope that her expression was pleading. “Talk to me.... I can’t.... I need something to focus on. I’m gonna lose it if I don’t.... Please?”

“Hey, of course I’ll help.” He shifted towards her, and she found herself leaning against an armoured shoulder. That was better. Much easier than trying to sit up on her own. “What do you wanna talk about? Anything in particular?” His lips curled into a half grin. “Technically I’m a veteran Spartan, compared to you, so there’s a lot of combat stories if you’re interested.”

He knew her so well. Whether it was just part of his job as squad leader to know the Spartans under his command, or it was simply his curious nature... It was a nice thought. But she didn’t think she knew him as well as he knew her. So maybe it was a good idea if she asked him about something they had in common.“I happened to notice that you’re quite proficient with combat knives... How about you tell me that, huh? Ever accidentally stab one of your teammates, like Kat did to me during training?” 

“Kat _stabbed_ you?” His incredulous tone was amusing, and she bit back a chuckle.

“Okay, well, not _stabbed_ , so much as nicked me bad enough that it needed stitches and left a scar, but...”


End file.
